You have few shopping days left until Mother's Day, May 11, so get shopping. Don't limit yourself to the classics and the clichéd when it comes to the moms in your life. When choosing a Mother's Day present, the sky's the limit, as you'll see below.
Don't forget to make brunch/lunch/dinner plans ASAP. If you're planning to eat out, book a table via Yelp, OpenTable, or another dining site right away—restaurants are packed on Mother's Day.
And if you do decide to go with flowers, read our comparison of bouquets from 1-800-Flowers.com and FTD.com.
Mother's Day gifts for the mom who:
Is an early adopter
Does Mom crave the latest tech toys? The Samsung Galaxy S 5 smart phone ($200 with contract) sits at the top of our smart-phone reviews as of mid-May. It offers a superb 5.1-inch display, an ultra-responsive 15.9-megapixel camera, and, Methuselahlike battery life. If you want to go over the top with the gift, add in the Samsung Gear Fit smart watch ($200). The second-generation Gear 2 has a cleaner look, better design, and longer battery life than the original.
Listens to music everywhere
Mom will flip over a the Sonos Play:1 wireless speaker system ($200), which lets her stream all digital music. This small model is a stylish, solidly constructed mono Wi-Fi speaker that delivers very good sound quality and is very easy to use. Mom can pair it with another Play:1 speaker in a stereo configuration for even better sound.
Consumes a lot of media
If mom loves to stream movies and TV shows, browse digital publications, and play a game of Candy Crush Saga here and there, the Google Nexus 7 tablet ($230 for the Wi-Fi-enabled 16GB model) will make her very happy. The second-generation Nexus 7 is a very well-configured small tablet with a vivid full-HD display, and it delivers extraordinary battery life.
Wants to stream video
If you want to get Mom a budget-priced streaming media player, consider Google Chromecast ($35) or the Roku Streaming Stick ($50). Chromecast has access to fewer streaming services—it does have Netflix and Hulu—but it lets you "cast" content to your TV from a computer using the Chrome browser. The Roku Streaming Stick delivers tons of content in a nearly invisible package.
Loves to bake
The Breville BEM800XL ($300) was excellent at whipping cream, mixing large batches of cookie dough, and kneading bread dough. Convenience features on this stand mixer include a leaf beater with a flexible edge that scrapes the bowl as it turns, plus a timer that lets you set the mixing time.
Cooks with fresh ingredients
Thanks to its superb performance chopping onions, slicing celery, shredding cheese and carrots, and grating parmesan cheese, the Breville BFP800XL/A ($400) is a top food processor for making hearty dips and chopping raw ingredients. And it’s surprisingly quiet. It can hold as much as 16 cups, but also has a convenient mini-bowl attachment for smaller batches.
Check our selection of the 7 gifts that save Mom time all year long.
Wants to juice without a juicer
One of our top-scoring blenders, the Vitamix 5200 ($450) can turn whole fruits and vegetables into a smooth creamy juice in just a minute. In our tests, we used apple, carrot, orange, pineapple, ice, and water. This versatile blender also excels at puréeing and is one of the few models that makes hot soup.
Enjoys a good cup of coffee
It’s a snap for the DeLonghi Nescafé Dolce Gusto Genio EDG455T coffeemaker ($130) to make one cup of coffee. Cup speed and size consistency are top-notch, and the unit is easy to use, refill, and clean. It can also make subsequent cups quickly and consistently. But true coffee lovers may prefer the taste of freshly ground coffee made in a drip machine. For that try the Cuisinart Perfec Temp DCC-2800 ($100).
Appreciates fine wine
Maintaining a uniform temperature is key to preserving the flavor of any wine. In our tests of wine chillers, the Electrolux IQ-Touch EI24WC65GS ($1,530) delivered very good temperature performance and energy efficiency.
Wants to work out
The Nautilus CoreBody Reformer ($250) lets Mom perform well-rounded routines without bone-jarring motions or muscle-popping weights. Also consider an activity tracker, treadmill, or elliptical.
—Consumer Reports
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